Body My House: May Swenson's Work and Life

by Paul Crumbley (Editor), Patricia M Gantt (Editor)

The first collection of critical essays on May Swenson and her literary universe, Body My House initiates an academic conversation about an unquestionably major poet of the middle and late twentienth century. Between the 1950s and the 1980s, May Swenson produced eleven volumes of poetry, received many major awards, was elected chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and was acclaimed by writers in virtually every school of American poetry. Essays here address the breadth of Swenson's literary corpus and offer varied scholarly approaches to it. They reference Swenson manuscripts---poems, letters, diaries, and other prose---some of which have not been widely available before. Chapters focus on Swenson's work as a nature writer; the literary and social contexts of her writing; her national and international acclaim; her work as a translator; associations with other poets and writers (Bishop, Moore, and others); her creative process; and her profound explorations of gender and sexuality. The first full volume of scholarship on May Swenson, Body My House suggest an ambitious agenda for further work. Contributors include Mark Doty, Gudrun Grabher, Cynthia Hogue, Suzann Juhasz, R.R. Knudson, Alicia Ostriker, Martha Nell Smith, Michael Spooner, Paul Swenson, and Kirstin Hotelling Zona.

254 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2006

Reviews

[Shirley Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a very interesting book on May Swenson's work and life. She certainly was a talented poet with a deep understanding of herself, her surroundings and her life-style. She left the relatively safe environment of Logan, Utah, and headed for the big city of New York to make a name for herself. I had never heard of her before this book was given to us as a Christmas gift from our son. It is a compliation of paper's given on her works. The paper's are excellent, and she was certainly a prolific poet. I felt sad that she left her family and their beliefs behind. She likend her doing so as they had left behind their beliefs and family when they left Sweden for the American West. I would like to know more of her relationships with her nine siblings and her parents.

[Natalie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of essays on Swenson's work. It's diverse and fairly comprehensive.